USA - Louisiana. House passes bill to expand death penalty

Louisiana House passes 73-19 a bill to expand death penalty. Louisiana House members overwhelmingly approved a bill today to make murder of a correctional worker subject to the death penalty, as an alternative to life imprisonment. The bill: House Bill 278 is sponsored by state Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson. It would add "correctional facility employee" to a list of 1st-degree murder victims identified in the statute. "1st-degree murder" for victims not identified in the statute requires other defined criteria, such as killing a person while committing certain other felonies. Those already mentioned in the statute as special victims are children and elderly people, taxi drivers, witnesses of crimes, firefighters, peace officers and civilian employees of Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory or any other forensics lab. The bill now heads to Senate committee.